Oedipus Rex

Sophocles’ classical Greek tragedy ‘Oedipus’ is one of the centerpieces of Western literature. It also has a broader place in modern Western culture, courtesy of Dr Freud and his Oedipus complex. Zeenat Zeeshan Fazil, narrates this finest tragedy ever written in the history of Greek classics
Oedipus is one of the most imperative and famed figure in Greek mythology. He was the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of the enormous city of the Thebes. Laius was warned by Apollo that his own son by Jocasta would slay him and then marry Jocasta, his own mother.
 In order to flee the death at the hands of his own son, Laius and Jocasta delivered their tot son, to a servant, with orders that the child should be exposed on Mt. Cathaeron with a spike driven through the child’s feet, but the servant could not carry out the command but turned the child over to a Corinthian shepherd, who in turn took him to polypus, king of Corinth and Merope his queen, who adapted him as their own son.
Later, he overheard Delphic oracle about his parentage adding that he would slay his father and marry his own mother. Thinking about the prophecy, and to escape his fate, Oedipus came to a place where three roads met, and was caught up with the band of travelers that integrated Laius as well.
A squabble was followed, in which Oedipus killed Laius, thus fulfilling the first part of prophesy without realizing the identity of the man he had killed.
Afterwards , the oracle prophecy completed its awful and ironic cycle when Oedipus undertook a mission to save Thebes, which was at that time suffering great misfortune at the hands of a female monster, the Sphinx who asked people riddles and killed those who could not give the acceptable answers. Creon, brother of Jocasta and regent of Thebes, offered the kingdom and jocasts’s hand to whoever should rid the country of the monster.
Off all the unsuccessful to all travelers along the Theban roadside by the winged lion woman “What goes first on four legs, then on three and then two? and Oedipus was the only one who answers the question, boldly by saying “Man”, with this he destroyed Sphinx.
In this way Oedipus solved the riddle and thus became the king of Thebes and married his own mother, Jocasta, without knowing her real identity. Jocasta had no idea that her novel juvenile husband was the son whom she sent off to be killed as an infant.
After some time, an appalling plague got stuck in Thebes which made citizen of Thebes to plea before the king Oedipus to curb the disease and save their lives. In turn Oedipus assured them that Creon, Jocasts’s brother, had great Apollo how the plague might be ended.
The Creon came with the staggering news that the catastrophe can be averted only if the slayer of Laius were expelled from the city. Oedipus thereupon started a search for the killer of Laius, unaware of the fact that he himself was the one who had struck down Laius.
He called Tiresias, a blind soothsayer for the help in order to decipher the murder mystery of king Laius, the prophet first claimed that he didn’t know the man’s name, but when Oedipus enforced and Tiresias finally relented, pointing towards Oedipus said “You are the slayer whom you seek, and in this way disclosed the real identity of the killer adding that Oedipus is leading a hideous life of ignominy. Tiresias warns Oedipus that he will be driven out of Thebes, that he will be deprived of his eyesight, that he will utter cries of agony on learning the real connotation of his marriage, and that the murderer will find himself to be the brother of his own offspring and the son of the very woman whom he now call his wife.
Afterwards, Jocasta unfolded to Oedipus the inclusive circumstances about the earlier prophesy, informs Oedipus that Laius was killed by a band of robbers “at a place where three road meet”.
On hearing this account, Oedipus was dazed by terror and told Jocasta how he himself had once killed a man at such a place. Soon, a messenger arrived from Corinth with the news that king Polypus had died an innate death and with this both Oedipus and Jocasta had come to the conclusion that the oracle has proved erroneous.
On this messenger informs Oedipus that he was the adopted son of king polypus and was presented to king by him. The Corinthian messenger tells him the story, how Oedipus was discovered at Mt. Cithaeron and the way he was handed over to him by Theban shepherd. With this life of Oedipus got reduced to dust and the ashes. What a monstrous crime he had committed by becoming the husband of the woman who had given him birth.
After the awful realization Jocasta rushed to her room and hanged herself by neck, swinging to and fro. In agony, Oedipus tore the broaches from her clothes and put out his eyes, blaring, that he should never be able to see with those eyes what he had suffered and what he had done. Before leaving the place he then entrusts his daughters to the care of Creon, who became king in his stead, alluring to him to have clemency on them in their state of wretchedness and desolation and with this merciless Theban plague at last came to an end.